


Meetings

by FredGeorge123



Series: ASOUE mostly one shots [2]
Category: A Series of Unfortunate Events - Lemony Snicket
Genre: Autistic Quigley Quagmire, Duncan is the impluse control, F/M, Gen, poor children
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-04 03:57:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16339379
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FredGeorge123/pseuds/FredGeorge123
Summary: Duncan couldn't remember the first time he met his siblings.Quigley could remember the last time he met his siblings.Isadora remembered the first time she realised their last meeting.They all remember their second first meeting.





	Meetings

Duncan Quagmire couldn't remember the first time he met his siblings. They had been always with him ever since he could remember. In every single photo one of them were in, either the others were there or the other/s were near by. The photo of the award Duncan had won for the national journalist contest was him and Quigley but he knew Isadora was taking the picture. Duncan was grinning shyly while Quigley was smirking. It was to be published in the Daily Punctilio but Duncan had found that out after picking the newspaper and reading the front story expecting to be disgusted. Duncan Quagmire couldn't remember the first time he met his siblings. They had been always with him ever since he could remember. In every single photo one of them were in, either the others were there or the other/s were near by. The photo of the award Duncan had won for the national journalist contest was him and Quigley but he knew Isadora was taking the picture. Duncan was grinning shyly while Quigley was smirking. It was to be published in the Daily Punctilio but Duncan had found that out after picking the newspaper and reading the front story. Once Duncan ad realised that it was his story that had been published, he felt humiliated and disgusted and angry. Isadora and Quigley had known that this wasn't a time for teasing. Duncan heavily despised the Daily Punctilio for lying about so many things. So teasing him about this wasn't like teasing him for being way more 'mature and sweet' than the other boys. Because Duncan hated the Daily Punctilio immensely and was feeling very strongly about this.

  
Once, Isadora had won the state poetry contest and all of the three were in the photo. She had Quigley in a headlock and was pulling Duncan by his tie. She was the only one smiling and the only one wanting to be in the picture. Her brothers were forced. She had wrote the opposite to her normal couplets; a long, non-rhyming prose poem. Key word long. Duncan and Quigley fell asleep listening to her recite it. Then it turned out that wasn't the one she was giving in. The one she sent was shorter. 

  
And when Quigley won the school's geography contest he caught a picture of them off guard. Quigley was good at geography. Too good. Not that the others minded his knowledge. What they minded was Quigley talking about it.

So the point was the siblings sticked to each other as if tied to each other. Even in school. Isadora was too blunt and sassy for anyone, Duncan was kind of awkward and shy and Quigley was... Quigley. Smart but a damn troublemaker. He could be good, calm and professional but he used it only in emergencies.

Duncan couldn't remember the first time he met his siblings. His mother had often talked about it with a fond smile.

"Isadora was born first, Duncan  second and Quigley third," their mother started. "You all were so small and we couldn't tell the differences between all of you. We had to keep tags on your feet until who knows. Luckily Duncan had a patch of skin slightly darker than the rest on his stomach so we didn't need to spend the rest of our lives in anxiety.."

Duncan was actually quite insecure about his patch of skin because once in year three the other kids saw his birthmark and teased him relentlessly. So he got Quigley to pretend to be him and show that there was no birthmark. The kids didn't know Duncan have triplets because their parents had decided to make them all go to different schools. In year 5 they moved to a different state so it was goodbye bullies for Duncan. But, strangely, no one bullied Duncan at all after that incident. He also had no friends but it's not like he did before. He was afraid Quigley had something to do with it. And he probably got Isadora to help.

The three had gone to school for second grade to fifth grade halfway and then to seventh. They were able to go to seven since they were the level and their parents were rich. Isadora said the second and Quigley agreed. Duncan made no comment.

Quigley and Isadora had a few scars because they were implusive. They thought it was cool. Isadora often said this and made couplets.

"Scars are marks to show you survived/Although there was pain you hadn't died," Duncan would rather have a scar than a birthmark. Lance McClain, who had been in the year above him, had one behind his ear and the boys in his class tried to talk about it with the older boy and admire it. Duncan had never talked to Lance but from what he knew about him, he was friendly and his best friend (whose name Duncan couldn't remember) was an amazing cook but had been on the receiving end of a few nasty comments. Duncan could relate to that. He wondered if Isadora and Quigley could too but he didn't think so. Isadora sassed the hell out of anyone who even tried to insult her and Quigley was... Quigley and would make the person regret. Duncan wasn't bullied anymore but didn't ever forget about the teasing which escalated from his birthmark to other things that only he knew about. Not really serious topics but it hurt.

Duncan would always feel uncomfortable and jumpy in school although he didn't show it. But with his siblings he'd feel safe. And his siblings felt safe which him and each other although none knew it. But they'd never admit it. They say the oldest is a dictator, the second is a rebel and the last is brat. Do any of the three sound like they'd admit lovey stuff?

Duncan couldn't remember the first time he mer his siblings. He tried to picture the scene but he doubted that even Isadora could have that much imagination. He couldn't even imagine them being apart more than a couple of streets.

It's just that they were always the Quagmire triplets or Duncan, Isadora and Quigley. Even when only one was too be called by their parents the other two would follow. It was natural.

He knew Isadora and Quigley like he knew his alphabet. And that's the way they knew him and each other.

Duncan was quiet and thought to be studious. Which he was but he was usually making articles and stuff. He was the most polite out of hus sibling and kept them from getting into too much trouble. Although Isadora and Quigley could find themselves convincing Duncan to join them.

Isadora was a smart alec at times and smarter than the teachers gave her credit for. In the eyes of most people, being good at Maths is the only way to be considered smart. Isadora hated that fact and would rant about how that was poppycock since Maths was a lot more straightforward unlike English or any other language writing was and thst took more brain energy and was harder.

Quigley loved adventures and exploring a lot. He could spend hours in the outdoors with nature. And he also had Autism. He had a collection of gloves on which he would look at places but also just twirl for the sake of it. Maybe that was one of the reasons he was so bad at communication and at the social part at school.  
He often forgot that people have boundaries, and stimmed whenever he got nervous which would sometimes get him weird looks. He had intense difficulty sitting or standing still and paying attention which would make the teachers give him detentions which would make Isadora do something to get herself detention to keep him company and that would leave Duncan the one to do the cooking and keep him from getting more detentions. Duncan was 85% of his impluse control since their parents were often away and so couldn't be. Duncan was the most sensible of the siblings. But when you think about those a lot of those times that Duncan got interested with their adventures and mischief then one could say that Duncan wasn't always sensible.

 

  
Quigley remebered the last time he saw his siblings. They were having dinner and their parents had come in. The siblings had a tiny squabble. A squabble not a fight. A squabble which is a small tiny play-fight. Their parents usually went on.... mission? For a lack of a better word. It had something to do with their job, Quigley knew that. He didn't know what their job was though. He had asked but his parents would give him confusing answers so he decided to subtely get answers out of them. Using Isadora and Duncan's help.

The triplets were the perfect mix of their parents.They looked very similar, though that was expected because they were triplets. They all had black hair. Duncan’s hair lay straighter than Quigley’s whose hair was pretty unruly and Isadora’s hair was just like Duncan’s but slightly below her shoulders. They all had the same eye shape and long eyelashes like their mum but their dark eyes were green like their dad’s. They had beige skin and heart shaped faces.

  
Although their parents were often not around, leaving the triplets to go to school alone, they weren't job obsessed. Their job just needed them often. Quigley knew they were already wealthy enough so he couldn't understand his parents. But they said it was for good and not about money so...

Their parents sometimes brought gifts for the kids. They brought a beautiful pen for Isadora, a bronze pocketwatch for Duncan and a compass for Quigley only last week. They also brought each a notebook (though Quigley preferred to call it a commonplace book). Duncan’s was dark green (“Like my eyes which will see many reports hand-written by me,” he said proudly), Isadora’s pitch black (“An empty dark world to be given light by the magnificence and light of poetry written by me!” Isadora said dramatically) and Quigley’s was purple (“It’s a nice shade of violet…?” Quigley said because his siblings wanted him to say something similar, “Very lovely indeed…?” This made Duncan and Isadora laugh for weeks and say it every chance they got).

That night their parents had announced that they had a surprise for the siblings. Their parents didn't often have surprises which they kept secret. Duncan hoped that they would be taking them somewhere as a family and spend time. Isadora hoped they would be taken shopping. Quigley hoped they were going to find out more about their parents' job.

Quigley didn't know, as he walked to the library, that that was the last time he would see somethings. That was the last time he saw his father. The last time he saw the kitchen. The last time he saw his siblings like the way they were back then; innocent and in a bubble protecting them from the world's horrors. The last time he saw dark green eyes so carefree. Now thinking about it, he supposed he must have changed too. He didn't know it was the last time though. You often don't know what is the last time until you know there's no way you're going to be able to do or see or hear or feel or touch or smell or whatever it again.

Quigley remembered the last time he saw his siblings. He also remembered the last time he saw his mother. He was in the library reading about the Finite Forest when he might have smelt smoke. He couldn't remember if he did. Maybe he actually did or maybe it was a memory his brain conjured up. He knew there was a fire now so it might have been the latter. But there had been a lot of smoke in the main room so... Whether or not he smelt smoke it wasn't what caught his attention. What caught his attention was the sound of windows shattering and people shouting. His mother had come in scared. Quigley supposed he must have looked scared too, perhaps more than his mother because... he hadn't been in a fire before. For some reason Quigley felt like this wasn't his mother's first fire. Now he knew that to be true but back then he didn't.

Mother took him to the main room and it was filled with too much smoke. Quigley's eyes watered. He couldn't remember if it was from the grey clouds of smoke which surrounded them and made their way to Quigley's lungs and clawing their way in causing him to cough violently and feel sick or the heaviness of the sitaution which didn't leave his mind. Maybe a mix of both.

  
She took him back to the library which made Quigley confused and wanting to ask why she took him but he was so scared and was shaking. His mother opened a trapdoor and told him to go down. Quigley wanted to argue and not listen but he knew he would only get in the way. So he went down. That was the last time he saw his mother and although he didn't know it, he suspected it a lot. He knew it was the kast time he would see the library or the main room or the main door. Even though you often don't know what is the last time until you know there's no way you're going to be able to do or see or hear or feel or touch or smell or whatever it again.

Quigley remembered the last time he saw his siblings. It wasn't the last time he heard his siblings though. The last time he heard them was when he was underneath a secret trapdoor he thoroughly wished he could ask about. His siblings were screaming and Quigley felt terrified and blocked his ears tears streaming down his face. He didn't cry often. He wished his siblings were there. He wished his father was there. He wished his mother was there. He wished it wasn't so dark. He wished he could forget all this and just wake up from this nightmare. But they were only meaningless and useless false hopes which if he clung onto would be delusional and irrational to. It wasn't the last time he would feel like this. But he didn't know that. You often don't know what isn't the last time unless you know there's a way you're going to be able to do or see or hear or feel or touch or smell or whatever it again.

 

  
Isadora remembered the first time she found out that it was the last time she had seen all her siblings. She and Duncan had waited at the bottom of their former mansion which was burning. Golden ember sparks glistened in the air dancing both beautifully and mockingly.

"It's quite lovely in a twisted sort of way," Isadora mumbled horrified and sick to her stomach.

"Very lovely indeed," Duncan said bitterly imitating their brother's words when they got their notebooks.

Isadora then realised that their father had gone for not only their mother but also for Quigley.

Her eyes widened in fear and terror. She turned to Duncan with her hair unrulier than even Quigley's, looking manic and panicked. Her sweater had burns and her face had smoke marks. That was how Duncan looked. She wondered how Quigley looked. A sick picture of his body laying limp and burned whike fire danced and engulfed him. She shook her head and made a small noise in terror.

"Duncan, Quigley's in there as well!"

Duncan looked distressed, a look Isadora wished wasn't on his face. It seemed to unnatural and un-Duncan-ish. She had the same look on her face.

That wasn't the time she realised but it was the time she feared it. Isadora felt herself shaking and saw Duncan was trembling too. She felt light headed as if going to faint and heavy as if the weight of the Earth was crushing her. She stared at Duncan, who might be her only family left. She sprang on to him and buried her face in his shoulder, tightly holding him as if if she let go he'd leave like it seemed that Mother did and Father did and Quigley did. They cried.

Isadora remembered the first time she found out that it was the last time she had seen all her siblings. A tall woman dressed in a long purple dress and heels which Isadora cringe and Duncan flinch had arrived in a long car. They had stared at the fire hoping for someone to come out but no one did.

"You're the rich orphans... Well, I'm Esme Squalor the city's sixth most important financial advisor and I must always be in so if you orphans were to stay with me that look wouldn't do at all but you aren't so-"

"Wait, orphans?!" Duncan's eyes widened as he stared in horror at her.

"Someone with no parents. Honestly you should know the meaning of-"

"We do know what it means. But my brother was surprised. Did... no one survive?"

"You did. Nobody else. Honestly, your parents were burnt to crisp I'm sure." They flinched.

"And our brother..." Isadora didn't want to think of Quigley as... dead. But she didn't want everyone to forget his memory.

"And your brother was burnt to crisp so much that nobody would remember his existence. Happy?" Esme didn't stop to see their reaction but opened her phone and started chatting.

Isadora's eyes widened. Esme's words felt like a knife piercing into her. And she had said them so carelessly...

Duncan glared at the older woman who paid no attention to the kids and talked. Isadora cowered into a vulnerable position and covered her face with her hands. She would have ran if she could but that wasn't an option. So she sobbed. Duncan put a hand on Isadora's back and felt his own eyes fill with tears.

There wasn't even a funeral. Their friends were as if wiped away from existence like Quigley. Did anybody remember their parents? It was acknowledged that they had parents because of course they had parents.

As Esme drove they both clung onto each other. They cried.

Isadora remembered the first time she found out that it was the last time she had seen all her siblings. The tall woman dressed in a long purple dress and had heels which made Isadora cringe and Duncan flinch. Esme Squalor. She told them that their parents had died and now she was incharge of their fortune.

  
"So don't worry your little heads about it, twins. Esme has-"

  
"Actually there's three of-" Duncan said and then froze remembering.

"I can only see two of you. And be agreeable. Orphans are in but there isn't a rule about how treat orphans so..." she cackled a ran a hand through her styled short black hair and told them to get out of the car.

What had happened was that the kids had stayed for a while in a sort of office which had its own kitchen and bathroom and stuff and were told to wait there and not touch anything.

A cook had come and put some fries for the triplets to eat until Esme came back. Isadora thanked the cook and gave him a smile although it wasn't too real. She hadn't smiled since before-

"Duncan?" Duncan was extremely pale and was shaking. The cook had gone and not noticed him looking so frightened and un-Duncan-ish. He wrapped his arms around himself with wide unseeing eyes. He looked like he was going to have a panic attack. A real one. Isadora noticed him staring at the stove that the cook was at a few minutes ago. She realised what happened.

"Duncan, we're okay," she whispered making circles on his back. She had no idea how to calm a person having a panic attack but she knew that she had to calm him down. "The fire's gone. We're safe."

She managed to calm him down before Esme arrived and he nibbled a few fries half-heartedly. They didn't say anything. They didn't know what to say.

Esme took them to what seemed to be a school and told them 'everything they needed to know'.

They hated the school after only a day. The Vice Principal was cruel and played the violin awfully. The orphan shack had green stuff growing and crabs. There was a mean, spoilt girl named Carmelita Spats who was around their age but acted as if she was six. The other kids were not as bad but not anywhere near nice either. They could hardly concentrate in class.

Isadora didn't usually cry. Neither did Duncan. But they felt light headed as if going to faint or crushed by the weight of the world. So they didn't care. It felt good letting out some pressure out instead of keeping it all in to randomly explode. That's why at night in the orphan shack, after a long day, in private they huddled close. Then they cried. And not far away, Quigley also cried.

 

The triplets remembered their second first meeting. The start of it was when Hector and the triplets got a telegram.

It had started off as a normal day in Hector's flying air mobile device. They woke up one morning in Isadora's room. Isadora woke up first and saw that Duncan had come to her room late at night. Duncan had been the more emotionally strong one during their time. Isadora knew that well. She remembered back at the elevator. During that time she wanted to give up. Which was strange. Isadora Quagmire had never been known to give up. She was the most stubborn out of the siblings. So no one would have thought that Isadora wanted to give up and not put up a fight. Just succumb to Count Olaf's will. And when they escaped then she wanted to go somewhere far, far away. She didn't know life would be so hard.

So Duncan had been her emotional support because Isadora Quagmire felt as if they had broken her. She wasn't the sassy, implusive and bold person she once we're and felt as if she'd never be. Duncan was still the quiet, studious, thoughtful and deep person he had always been but with a few scratches and now had grown into a man Isadora was proud of. But Isadora felt weak. She hadn't grown up. She just broke. At times, she envied Quigley for being dead.

The point was that Duncan had been the emotionally strong one for both of them and now was a man.

But he was also still a kid and even grown men could be emotional. Duncan was always a little sensitive and if someone sensitive hadn't been allowed to be sensitive then that would not be particularly good. And so when Duncan went to Isadora's bed then Isadora would greet him with open arms if she was awake. It did them both good.

So Isadora woke up and wanted to stay like this forever and Duncan woke up a minute later and wanted to stay like this forever. But you couldn't always get what you wanted. And the Quagmire siblings hadn't gotten much that they'd wanted for a while. It had only been a couple of months since the fire but it felt like years. They had forgotten their parents' middle names and what there parents had made them for dinner on the last rare day where their parents were home for twenty four whole hours and more than twelve hours. Their old life felt so distant. They wondered how it was for the Baudelaires who had gone through more than them for longer than them seemingly and without a break.

After waking up, the triplets went outside and munched on a bowl of cereal. Hector had three boxes of cereal which had yet to run out. Mostly because Isadora and Duncan's don't really have an appetite usually and Hector was keen on saving resources since they didn't stop (A/N: If anyone reads this then can you tell me in the comments below if they Quagmires stopped in Hector's air mobile device? I'm not sure...).

Hector had then told them that an old friend of his had sent a telegram. Her name was Kit Snicket. Hector read the telegram and then his mouth twisted and his eyes widened.

"Um... Triplets...? I think you'd like to read this..." Hector said, a note of shock and disbelief evident in his voice making the triplets exchange glances.

"What does it say?" Duncan asked, curiously. Isadora looked curiously at the man. Duncan glanced at his sister looking for a sign of her old curiousity. Nope. This wasn't the old curious, innocently wide eyes curiousity of a young kid. This was a curiousity which was laced by tiredness and fear and catiousness. And Duncan knew his curiousity was the same. Isadora's eyes and tone showed it all. There was no childishness or playfulness in them.

Duncan was proud of his sister. He thanked God for her. She had cleverly got them to escape their prison. The first time it worked and the second time it worked better. She wanted to give up and at times did. But she stood back up and fought and gave it all she could. She had grown into someone Duncan would trust his life with. Her old implusiveness, stubborness and mischievous had been transformed with fight, determination and intuition. And Duncan hadn't helped at all. He just stood there while Isadora used her talents.

Hector ran a hand through his hair, "VFD is holding a meeting. On Tuesday."

"End it right there. To hell with VFD. While we were stuck and helpless it does nothing to help. And the Baudelaires have gone through so much crap. I guess it !ight have some good people who were busy but as a whole VFD is shady and unreliable and I'm not falling for it and I'm not letting Duncan fall for it," Isadora said angrily.

"And I'm not falling for it either," Duncan said finally. Honestly. Hector didn't seem to have love for VFD. He was just telling them right?

"I think we would have to go..." Hector said slowly and the triplets looked at him, gobsmacked and their eyes widened.

"Hector, you can't be serious!" Isadora shouted with disbelief laced on her tone.

"It's not about VFD... It's about the Baudelaires..." Hector sighed, "I'm sure they're going to be there... And..."

"We'll have to go!" Duncan and Isadora's face changed. The Baudelaires were their dear friends and they had to see them for they had saved them and friends stuck together.

 

The triplets remembered their second first meeting. Kit Snicket wasn't alone when she had sent the message to Hector the Quagmire triplets (Duncan and Isadora, the package deal. Quigely's sold separately).

Quigley desperately wanted to tell them that he was alive and well and better than either of them. Quigely had been alright. Eating alright, being treated alright, being free and even a volunteer now.

But if that had been written in the telegram then it might have fallen in the wrong hands and the information that Quigley was alive would be found out. Quigley still didn't get how it mattered apart from to do with the fortune but yeah. Jacques had told him to keep his status secret. And he would stay dead. He'd take it as Jacques last wish for Quigley to do.

 

  
The triplets remembered their second first meeting. They could never forget it.

Never.

For Duncan and Isadora, it had started as a normal day in Hector's self-sustaining hot air mobile home. Again. Hector was awfully kind to have let strangers take refuge in there. The three often talked and the triplets felt peaceful at last after a very long time which felt even longer in their point of view.

Duncan often couldn't sleep at night and stayed awake and thus gained dark circles. Isadora tried to make him sleep but failed.

Their world had changed so much since the fire and wasn't stopping to let them catch a breath. Duncan often woke up from nightmares and felt too frightened to go to sleep. So he would first check up on Isadora and then spent the whole night awake.

Hector had conversations and told stories about his childhood. Duncan liked his stories and Hector seemed glad to talk about them. All that they needed was the Baudelaires amd everything would be perfect. Hopefully they'd see them Tuesday of everything went as plan. But apart from the Baudelaires, today was a nice day. It finally felt like they were getting better. Maybe the Baudelaires were one of the things which haunted them. And maybe now that they would hopefully meet them again soon then they'd help each other heal. And keep away from VFD.

But everything came to an end and one morning they woke up to find a bunch of eagles attacking them suspiciously. They both cursed. Both. Including Duncan who was known for never cursing. They called Hector who then widened his eyes and grimaced.

"VFD eagles. They belong to the other side of VFD," he sighed. Duncan cursed. They were never going to be given a break, were they? He hated both sides of VFD. Both. Not just one. Both.

"Let's try fighting them back," Isadora suggested, because what else could they do? She didn't want to fight back. As said before, she was tired. Tired of life. Tired of VFD. Tired of wondering what the Baudelaires were going through. Tired of knowing what the Baudelaires had gone through. Tired of remembering what they'd gone through. Tired of remembering what her brother had gone through. Tired of remembering what she'd gone through. Tired of knowing her brother was tired. Tired of knowing the Baudelaires weepre tired. Tired of knowing she was tired. Tired. Tired. Tired.

But she got a little break. More than the Baudelaires. So she would fight. Fight.

"Try, we can. But these little pests are extremely difficult and dangerous so we must be careful and not get our hopes too high..."

"We can send Kit Snicket a telegram!" Isadora said looking pleased with herself for that idea. Duncan took a moment to appreciate his intelligent sister who had stated the obvious everyone was oblivious to.

"Good thinking," Hector said looking relieved.

And so that's what they did. But little did they know the telegram did go to Kit but she wasn't the only one who got it and she wasn't the one who went to help them.

 

  
For Quigley it start with him cursing his situation. He didn't know how he got into this situation. This was a horrible situation and Quigley despised it. He wished Kit was there. But she had to go to get the Baudelaires which was what he was supposed to do with her until his siblings sent a message to Kit which made it seem that they were attacked. Quigley was of course going to help them but by doing so he was also going to give them a huge heart attack.

Stupid attacker. They ruined what was supposed to be a extremely wonderful reunion with Viol- the Baudelaires. A reunion with all the Baudelaires. Because Sunny was also cool and Klaus was a good friend in the tiny amount of time Quigley had known him. Their best moment of their friendship was when Klaus asked if he wanted to help and contribute to their mission and Quigley answered in what could be summarized as 'no, I'll flirt with your sister instead' straight to his face (A/N: Based on a post by https://asoue-sideblog.tumblr.com , my fav ASOUE blog, 10/10, would recommend). To be fair, he didn't end up helping out.

The thing that was very... let's call it... tense about Quigley's... situation wasn't that he and Kit had to steal a helicopter although Quigley hoped they got return it. It was very important. Like extremely. So he hoped God would forgive them for this. What was tense was that Quigley had to fly the damn helicopter all by himself. There was a manual and he had so far been quite okay. Everything was going smoothly. In fact, Quigley was able to contruct a huge net. The knots were tricky. Violet was way better. But everyone knew that. They should have a Violet fanclub. And come up with a list everyday of why Violet was so amazing.

Quigley shook his head. Now he had to concentrate. Not think of brown hair and chocolate eyes and the most sharp and witty brain he ever knew.

It was a while before he finally saw the famous self-sustaining hot air mobile home. Being attacked by the VFD eagles.

Quigley didn't get paid enough for this. He didn't even get paid at all. But it's the Volunteer Fire Department not the Actual Fire Department where you get paid. Still paid could also mean actually getting something good out of this like... anything!

He finally reached the air mobile home.

And on the air mobile home were faces he hadn't seen for months but saw everytime he looked in the mirror.

Duncan and Isadora.

They had changed. Their eyes were slightly haunted and darker. They didn't look like the Duncan and Isadora who had hair ruffling competitions with each other and Quigley. That wasn't the Duncan who would make dumb puns and say that he was sensible but wasn't always. That wasn't the Isadora who would make the worst rhymes to annoy her brothers and would obsess over her desserts and was sassy. Their hair had grown as well. And they had grown thinner although Quigley knew that they were now eating better meals than when they were with Count Olaf.

Isadora was trying to hit the eagles with a chair and Duncan was trying to spray water at them. This was why he was the action sibling.

Quigley sighed.

He tugged the net and it seemed firm enough.

The triplets remembered their second first meeting. Duncan was the one who noticed the helicopter floating around. It was extremely strange and Duncan wondered if VFD had finally helped them.

It was still on thin ice and unil he got to know the volunteer properly, so were they.

He tapped Isadora on the shoulder and pointed in its direction.

"Um... Are you Lit Snocket?" Isadora asked feeling relieved yet cautious. It was not easy to fight with eagles and so far they had made no progress at all in the slightest.

The anonymous helicopter driver didn't say anything for a while. "No, not Kit. A friend and fellow volunteer of hers."

The voice was young, boyish and strangely... familiar? Though Isadora just couldn't put her finger on it...

The anonymous pilot took out a net. He checked if it was firm and the drove to the top of the balloon while holding the net. He dropped it on the eagles who started squaking manically and tried to get out.

The anonymous pilot was quiet for a moment.

"What are you doing?" Isadora asked.

"I'm... uh... looking to see how to put this on auto-pilot and keep it hovering in one spot. I have recently earned a new-found respect for helicopter pilots. It was so hard to drive this thing."

"There is no way you learnt to fly a helicopter in one day," Duncan said firmly. Isadora agreed.

"Believe me, I'd agree in a heartbeat. But this isn't the weirdest thing that's happened. If a bunch of lions can become detectives then I can fly this helicopter. That doesn't mean I should-"

And at that moment, the helicopter lost balance and started falling. Isadora would never forget what had happened. The pilot did survive it can jumped on to the air mobile home, face looking down and on all fours, slightly long black hair covering the front of his face.

"Never again... There is no way... At least I didn't have to put so much effort into flying the helicopter... And there goes the whole Quagmire fortune paying for that..."

"Why the Quagmire fortune-?" Duncan asked. He didn't care if this volunteer was their age. They were on thin ice if they thought they could use the triplets'-

Oh shit.

Oh shit, damn.

It was like time froze and all the triplets (all of the triplets, not just Duncan and Isadora) stared at each other.

"Quigley..." Duncan and Isadora whispered.

"Duncan... Izzie..."

Quigley had changed. Isadora never realised until now Duncan had also changed a lot, mentally and physically. She supposed she had changed too. Quigley's hair had grown long almost up to his neck and he had a scar on his cheek. His dark green eyes weren't haunted like theirs but were extremely serious as if all the childishness was sucked out of it but in a different way from the triplets (Duncan and Isadora not all). He had gone thinner and looked rather mature.

Quigley snapped out of his trance first and said, "Let's help Hector with the eagles. Then I'll tell you everything."

"You're alive?" How did he escape?

"Where have you been?" Was he always this close?

"How did you find out about VFD?" And why did he say he was a volunteer? Quigley. Quigley. Answers.

"Why didn't you contact us?" That hurt.

"First the eagles then everything else," Quigley thrn dashed and took hold of one side of the net. He tried to throw it over the eagles. That helicopter could have come in handy now...

But now the Quagmires and Hector had greater worries than Quigely being alive.

Suddenly, an eagle had sunk its talons into the balloon.

And they all fell. Isadora clutching Duncan's hand, like they had when they just escaped the fire and realised Quigley was in the mansion. Like when Esmé Squalor had said those cruel words. Like when Duncan saw the stove. Like those nights and days in Prepfrock. Like those nights and days with Count Olaf. Like those nights and days in Hector's flying air mobile device.

And they realised another hand was holding both of their a second later. The missing hand. And although they fell, they fell happier.


End file.
